Peter Baynham
Encyclopedia
Peter Baynham is a screenwriter and a British comedian, writer, and performer. He often collaborates with Armando Iannucci
and Chris Morris
and has worked with Stewart Lee
and Richard Herring
. He is first heard on Morris' early radio DJ slots, often going out to places. Other works not involving the above 'big names' were the "comic book
in radio format" series The Harpoon
, and animated sitcom I Am Not an Animal
. The former was co-written with Julian Dutton
and featured the vocal talents of impressionist Alistair McGowan
. The latter was written with the help of Sarah Smith (producer of The Harpoon
) and had an all-star cast including Steve Coogan
, Kevin Eldon, Amelia Bullmore
, Julia Davis
and Simon Pegg
. He has also appeared on the stand-up circuit as Mr Buckstead, the psychotic poet.
In 2006 Peter co-wrote the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
together with star Sacha Baron Cohen
, Anthony Hines and Dan Mazer
. In 2007 they received an Oscar Nomination for this.
He was also in the Merchant Navy in his teenage years, and is perhaps the only comedian licensed to pilot a supertanker. Peter graduated from Fleetwood
nautical college.
Baynham is known for his role as the Too Gorgeous man in the Pot Noodle
adverts during the mid 1990s, a campaign he co-wrote with Iannucci.
As a writer, he has contributed to the following programmes and films:
Armando Iannucci
Armando Giovanni Iannucci is a Scottish comedian, satirist, writer, director, performer and radio producer. Born in Glasgow, he studied at Oxford University and left graduate work on a PhD about John Milton to pursue a career in comedy....
and Chris Morris
Chris Morris (satirist)
Christopher Morris is an English satirist, writer, director and actor. A former radio DJ, he is best known for anchoring the spoof news and current affairs television programmes The Day Today and Brass Eye, as well as his frequent engagement with controversial subject matter.In 2010 Morris...
and has worked with Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera...
and Richard Herring
Richard Herring
Richard Keith Herring is a British comedian and writer, whose early work includes his involvement in the double-act, Lee and Herring...
. He is first heard on Morris' early radio DJ slots, often going out to places. Other works not involving the above 'big names' were the "comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
in radio format" series The Harpoon
The Harpoon
The Harpoon was a BBC Radio 4 series broadcast between 1991 and 1994, written by Julian Dutton and Peter Baynham. It consisted of three four part series and two Christmas specials, and was performed by Julian Dutton, Peter Baynham, Susie Brann, Alistair McGowan and Mary Elliott-Nelson, and was...
, and animated sitcom I Am Not an Animal
I Am Not an Animal
I Am Not an Animal is an animated comedy series telling the tale of highly intelligent animals rescued from a vivisectionist laboratory and forced to live on their own. The series was made and directed by Peter Baynham. It was produced by Baby Cow Productions and ran on BBC2 in the United Kingdom...
. The former was co-written with Julian Dutton
Julian Dutton
Julian Dutton is an English comedy writer and performer, principally for television and radio, whose work has won a British Comedy Award and a BAFTA....
and featured the vocal talents of impressionist Alistair McGowan
Alistair McGowan
Alistair McGowan is a British impressionist, stand-up comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for The Big Impression , which was, for four years, one of BBC1's top-rating comedy programmes - winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003...
. The latter was written with the help of Sarah Smith (producer of The Harpoon
The Harpoon
The Harpoon was a BBC Radio 4 series broadcast between 1991 and 1994, written by Julian Dutton and Peter Baynham. It consisted of three four part series and two Christmas specials, and was performed by Julian Dutton, Peter Baynham, Susie Brann, Alistair McGowan and Mary Elliott-Nelson, and was...
) and had an all-star cast including Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
, Kevin Eldon, Amelia Bullmore
Amelia Bullmore
Amelia Bullmore is an English actress and writer. She was born in London and studied drama at the University of Manchester. Bullmore started working as an actor but turned to writing in 1995...
, Julia Davis
Julia Davis
Julia Davis is an English comedy writer and performer, best known for writing and starring in the BBC Three comedy Nighty Night.-Background:...
and Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
. He has also appeared on the stand-up circuit as Mr Buckstead, the psychotic poet.
In 2006 Peter co-wrote the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, often referred to simply as Borat, is a 2006 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and distributed by 20th Century Fox...
together with star Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
, Anthony Hines and Dan Mazer
Dan Mazer
Dan Mazer is a British screenwriter, TV/film producer, and comedian. He is best known as the long-time writing and production partner of Sacha Baron Cohen and has worked with him on such characters as Ali G and Borat...
. In 2007 they received an Oscar Nomination for this.
He was also in the Merchant Navy in his teenage years, and is perhaps the only comedian licensed to pilot a supertanker. Peter graduated from Fleetwood
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era...
nautical college.
Baynham is known for his role as the Too Gorgeous man in the Pot Noodle
Pot Noodle
Pot Noodle is a brand of ramen-style instant noodle snack foods, available in a selection of flavours and varieties. Its dehydrated mixture consists of wide noodles, textured soya pieces, assorted dried vegetables and flavouring powder. The product is prepared by adding boiling water, which softens...
adverts during the mid 1990s, a campaign he co-wrote with Iannucci.
Work
As a performer, he has appeared in the following programmes:- The Chris Morris Music Show (Radio show)
- Fist of FunFist of FunFist of Fun was a popular British comedy television and radio programme, written by and starring Lee and Herring . A lot of the show's comic material was adapted from Lee and Herring's radio programme Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World.Each episode of Fist of Fun featured several disparate sketches...
(Radio and TV series) - Lee and HerringLee and Herring (radio series)Lee and Herring was a British radio series broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 1994 and 1995, named after the comedy double act who hosted it, Lee and Herring.The show ran for three series and a total of nineteen hour-long episodes...
(Radio Series) - The HarpoonThe HarpoonThe Harpoon was a BBC Radio 4 series broadcast between 1991 and 1994, written by Julian Dutton and Peter Baynham. It consisted of three four part series and two Christmas specials, and was performed by Julian Dutton, Peter Baynham, Susie Brann, Alistair McGowan and Mary Elliott-Nelson, and was...
(Radio series) - JunkiesThe Junkies (pilot)The Junkies was a British sitcom pilot, produced in 2000 for a budget of just £3,500, and distributed over the Internet.The show was one of the first to be specifically made for download over the web. It was written by Jane Bussmann and David Quantick, and starred Peter Baynham, Sally Phillips,...
(Internet video) - The Day TodayThe Day TodayThe Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs programmes, broadcast in 1994, and created by the comedians Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992...
- Friday Night Armistice and Saturday Night Armistice as himself
- This Morning with Richard Not JudyThis Morning With Richard Not JudyThis Morning With Richard Not Judy or TMWRNJ was a BBC comedy television programme, written by and starring Lee and Herring. Two series were broadcast in 1998 and 1999 on BBC2...
as himself - I'm Alan PartridgeI'm Alan PartridgeI'm Alan Partridge is a BBC situation comedy starring Steve Coogan, of which two series of six episodes each were produced — the first in 1997 and the second in 2002...
- Brass EyeBrass EyeBrass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A series of six aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001....
- The 99p ChallengeThe 99p ChallengeThe 99p Challenge is a spoof panel game originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The show is presented by Sue Perkins and features a selection of regular panelists such as Armando Iannucci and regular writers Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley, Jon Holmes and Tony Roche...
(Radio series) - Look Around YouLook Around YouLook Around You is a British television comedy series devised and written by Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz, and, in the first series, narrated by Nigel Lambert...
As a writer, he has contributed to the following programmes and films:
- The HarpoonThe HarpoonThe Harpoon was a BBC Radio 4 series broadcast between 1991 and 1994, written by Julian Dutton and Peter Baynham. It consisted of three four part series and two Christmas specials, and was performed by Julian Dutton, Peter Baynham, Susie Brann, Alistair McGowan and Mary Elliott-Nelson, and was...
(Radio series) - The Day TodayThe Day TodayThe Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs programmes, broadcast in 1994, and created by the comedians Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992...
- In the Red (Radio series)
- Big TrainBig TrainBig Train is a surreal British television comedy sketch show created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, writers of the successful sitcom Father Ted...
- Saturday Night Armistice
- Bob and MargaretBob and MargaretBob and Margaret was a Canadian/UK animated television series that was also shown in the United States and all over the world. The series was produced by Nelvana, a Toronto animation studio, and created by Canadian David Fine and Brit Alison Snowden...
- I'm Alan PartridgeI'm Alan PartridgeI'm Alan Partridge is a BBC situation comedy starring Steve Coogan, of which two series of six episodes each were produced — the first in 1997 and the second in 2002...
- Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge
- Brass EyeBrass EyeBrass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A series of six aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001....
- JamJam (TV series)Jam was a postmodern British dark comedy series created, written and directed by Chris Morris, and broadcast on Channel 4 during March and April 2000...
- I am Not an AnimalI Am Not an AnimalI Am Not an Animal is an animated comedy series telling the tale of highly intelligent animals rescued from a vivisectionist laboratory and forced to live on their own. The series was made and directed by Peter Baynham. It was produced by Baby Cow Productions and ran on BBC2 in the United Kingdom...
- Monkey DustMonkey DustMonkey Dust is a British satirical cartoon, notorious for its dark humour and handling of taboo topics such as murder, suicide and paedophilia. There were three series broadcast on BBC Three between 2003 and 2005...
- Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, often referred to simply as Borat, is a 2006 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and distributed by 20th Century Fox...
- BrünoBrüno (film)Brüno is a 2009 British mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and starred as the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno...
- ArthurArthur (2011 film)Arthur is a 2011 comedy film written by Peter Baynham and directed by Jason Winer. It is a remake of the 1981 film written and directed by Steve Gordon...
- Arthur ChristmasArthur ChristmasArthur Christmas is a 2011 British/American 3-D computer animated fantasy comedy film produced by Aardman Animations and Sony Pictures Animation, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was released on November 11, 2011, in the UK, and on November 23, 2011, in the USA...
(released November 2011)